# Fake/Real DuPont Lighter Question...



## Guest

What's the deal with all those new S.T. DuPont lighters selling on Ebay for $150 - $200? 

On the one hand, they seem real... they look real, come with box and paperwork, and a lot of people buy them. In fact, a lot of people who buy vintage DuPonts also buy these. No complaints (never any negative feedback about the actual lighters or their authenticity).

On the other hand, the lighters seem fake. They're not auctioned by S.T. Dupont authorized retailers, and the auction verbiage includes all sorts of 'disclaimers' that they have nothing to do with S.T. DuPont and that DuPont will not honor the warranty or repair them (which suggests that they are not authentic, because the real ones have a lifetime warranty). Also, there tend to be a ton of flagrant spelling errors in the auctions ("classical ping sound... only from Dupond!"). Clearly not a good sign.

So what's the deal? Is there a huge market for fake lighters that nobody speaks about (if so, are the lighters such *good* reproductions that most buyers don't notice?). Or, are they real and just 'fell off a truck' or something?

I've been really curious about this and was wondering what you folks think...

Matt


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## kjpman

are you talking about the Nibo lighters that knockoff DuPonts?? If so, i picked up there Space triple torch lighter and it has worked flawlessly for me, all except for the fact it sounds like a jet engine and uses fuel like a monster!!! Im tempted, to pick up a DuPont knockoff because ive been looking for a cheap decent flint lighter thats not a zippo. Anyone have or try one lately?


...kjpman


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## Guest

The Nibos do look nice, 'similar' to DuPonts and are very cheap (I think like $20 or so).

But no, I'm talking about lighters that are allegedly authentic DuPonts (they even come in a DuPont box with documentation, etc). You can get a real one from an ST DuPont authorized retailer for between $500 - $1000, but the ones on ebay go for only about $150 - $200.

Here's an example of a lighter that usually costs about $750 but is being auctioned off for a fraction of that amount (one of many... just do an ebay search on 'dupont lighter'):

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20190&item=6108197586&rd=1


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## NewGeneration85

I couldn't tell you if that is real, but those DuPonts are mighty fine. Out of curiosity, someone should buy one of these babies and take it to a good jeweler that knows DuPont items well... And if they say it is fake, then you get the guy to refund you, and if it is real, good deal.


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## poker

better yet, just buy one from an authorized dealer and save yourself the headache. In many cases, you will get what you pay for. Kinda like 200 dollar boxes of Esplendidos.


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## NewGeneration85

except when I have a jeweler confirm it is fake I can get the seller for CC fraud. When you buy a glass-toped box of esplenditos from "Juan" in the D.R. you can't exactly do that...


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## poker

True, but is it worth the headache? Personally, for me time is limited and I have better things to do than go authenticate, possible follow up on fraud charges, etc. on a lighter.

But, if you feel the need, by all means have fun!


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## NewGeneration85

Well I am an 18 year old freshman at U of M, and unfortunately I have much more time to spend than money. =/ In all honesty though I'll wait to get a full-time job before even considering dropping that much money on a lighter (even at 200-300), my Trifecta is more than adequate.


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## Guest

I have to agree on all points here. Incidentally, being that I want a decent flint lighter I just decided to order a Vector Emperor. Seems like an inexpensive triple flame alternative to a DuPont. Any experiences?


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## NewGeneration85

I'll be honest, I'm about to break down and buy one of the duponts off ebay, take it to a jeweler and hope they don't tell me it is fake.


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## Lord Hammer

NewGeneration85 said:


> I'll be honest, I'm about to break down and buy one of the duponts off ebay, take it to a jeweler and hope they don't tell me it is fake.


  Oh , the virtues of youth, you have much to learn grasshopper  .


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## MaduroManiac

Actually, there are a number of reasons why the seller is being stealth about the sale. As a wholesaler in the trade, I can tell you that certain vendors are very protective of their suggested retail pricing (SRP).

Anyone who has had a cigar shop knows the large cigar companies border on the edge of antitrust. Just barely. Other tahn product, Dupont, even Porsche, are no different. They need to ensure the SRP stays up there so they can continue to get top dollar in the wholesale channel.

At RTDA this year, I was talking to the people at Porsche. They are importing the "cigar spa", a neat little gadget made in Germany that controls the humidity in your humidor. SRP=$400. As soon as I mentioned my onLine stores, they backed down on the discussion. They essentially said that i WILL sell these for $400!

Now, if I bought one, wholesale, sold it to "grasshopper" here for my cost +$25 and he sold it for his cost +$50, the price would still be well under $300. And I can tell you as soon as Porsche found out WHERE it came from, I would be "cut off" from future sales. So I would have to "stealth" the sale so it could not get traced back to me. If I wanted to continue buying the product.

Now, back to the Dupont lighters. It could be the same situation. Someone trying to sell a great product through a hole in the fence. Then again, it could be a bad speller trying to acquire your hard earned cash dishonestly. But I tend to think that's not the case and it is the real thing. I can tell you the last thing any auction "seller" wants is a bad rep and to be chased by Paypal, the credit card company, and worse yet, Ebay.

If you're gonna do it, shop the model. Call a couple places and get a price on the fone. Do a Google search and compare prices from "brick and mortar" stores who sell online.

Good Luck!


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## NewGeneration85

im probably just gonna get an x-tend off cigarbid for now. Maybe attempt the ebay thing later.


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## txmatt

Personally I would get the Vector Emporer for around $40 that mycroft412 mentioned or the Nibo VIP for around $15. Turn around and use the $100 you saved on a nice box of cigars or even a Palio cutter and a decent budled cigar.

The Emporer merges 3 flames into one for a VERY broad flame. It still makes the "ping" sound and has a punch cutter on the bottom to boot!. Pictured below.



The Nibo VIP is cheaper yet, and unless you inspected it in hand and had a good knowledge of St. Dupont lighters could not be differentiated from the 10x more costly lighter. Pictured below.



I used bargainhumidors.com for the pics so I am giving them mention for using their bandwidth. They do have decent prices on both of these.

Matt


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## kanadakid

New Generation /Terp


Even $200.00 is a lot to pay for a lighter. Chances are that it will eventually get lifted or lost. I have a nibo and really like it. Yes the tri torch does eat fuel. Some fo the other guys have recoomended lighters for way under 100 that you would really be satisfied with.

What bourbon do you drink ? I had some makers mark the other night and enjoyed it. 


hope this is helpful,


Kid


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## OpusEx

mycroft412 said:


> The Nibos do look nice, 'similar' to DuPonts and are very cheap (I think like $20 or so).
> 
> But no, I'm talking about lighters that are allegedly authentic DuPonts (they even come in a DuPont box with documentation, etc). You can get a real one from an ST DuPont authorized retailer for between $500 - $1000, but the ones on ebay go for only about $150 - $200.
> 
> Here's an example of a lighter that usually costs about $750 but is being auctioned off for a fraction of that amount (one of many... just do an ebay search on 'dupont lighter'):
> 
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20190&item=6108197586&rd=1


I have looked over this auction and the only thing I can come up with, if the lighter is legit, that might make a difference, is that in the current S.T. Dupont catalog it is not listed. In other words, maybe the person selling it was able to obtain it from a dealer who just wanted to clear the item from their inventory? A friend of mine is constantly searching the e-bay listings though and pointed out to me that while the prices for the Duponts start out low, they usually end up with the winning bid being closer to what you would pay from an authorized dealer who might have them on sale. My personal thought on these would match Pokers, find an authorized dealer, haggle a bit if you can and purchase. Why even allow for the opportunity of hassles. Just my .02


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## Lord Hammer

Really, if i'm going to buy a high-end Mercedes or similar luxury car i am not going to buy it from some "unknown" through e-bay or anywhere else. If there's a problem i want a tangible solution, if something is worth a lot of bucks it's either worth it or not but that doesn't equate to getting more for less. Just my 2 cents


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## fireorgan

Mirror image S.T. Dupont and Dunhill vintage lighters

http://photo.yahoo.com/fireorgan

[email protected]


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## RJT

Sorry to say these are fakes. Just like a fake Rolex, Mont Blanc pen and etc.... I say buy you a real deal ST Dupont X Tend for $130.00 and know what you have gotten. RJT


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## benjamin831

fireorgan said:


> Mirror image S.T. Dupont and Dunhill vintage lighters
> 
> http://photo.yahoo.com/fireorgan
> 
> [email protected]


Sorry dude. Fake as a glass top cohiba.


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## eschickli

just looked at ebay - there are a fair amount of reasonable priced lightly used st. Dupont lighters like 100-200. No brand new ones that i see. If you're looking for a nice lighter in the 100-200 range that brand new i'd go with a Porsche Design one. I have a PD4 and i love it. Butane ones look at the PD2,3,4,5,6 they're all pretty nifty.


Correction: the PD2 is actually not a butane lighter - just the PD3,4,5,6


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## thebiglebowski

eschickli said:


> just looked at ebay - there are a fair amount of reasonable priced lightly used st. Dupont lighters like 100-200. No brand new ones that i see. If you're looking for a nice lighter in the 100-200 range that brand new i'd go with a Porsche Design one. I have a PD4 and i love it. Butane ones look at the PD2,3,4,5,6 they're all pretty nifty.
> 
> Correction: the PD2 is actually not a butane lighter - just the PD3,4,5,6


my two cents: last year, i purchased my dunhill rollagas on ebay from a duty free seller in hong kong for something like $100 less than MSRP. it was the best "sure" deal i could find and it's definately an authentic dunhill...


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## MrBill

I'm new to this message board. I found it while searching "fake duponts".

I have 2 chinese ST. Dpt lighters and 1 NIBO VIP1. I have to say the knock offs are a lot heavier and appear better made than NIBO. The average eBay price for a knock off is about 32.00 GBP(British Pound). Which comes to about $53 or so. Most ship from Hong Kong, and arrive in lightning speed!!! Most sellers shipping is 16.00 GBP on average....the only killer is the USD to GBP conversion. I would definately buy another chinese lighter over the NIBO, you feel the difference as soon as they're both in your hands...there's no comparison. A chinese "P I I N N N G G G" to a NIBO "ting".


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## SeanGAR

MrBill said:


> I'm new to this message board. I found it while searching "fake duponts".
> 
> I have 2 chinese ST. Dpt lighters and 1 NIBO VIP1. I have to say the knock offs are a lot heavier and appear better made than NIBO. The average eBay price for a knock off is about 32.00 GBP(British Pound). Which comes to about $53 or so. Most ship from Hong Kong, and arrive in lightning speed!!! Most sellers shipping is 16.00 GBP on average....the only killer is the USD to GBP conversion. I would definately buy another chinese lighter over the NIBO, you feel the difference as soon as they're both in your hands...there's no comparison. A chinese "P I I N N N G G G" to a NIBO "ting".


Given that the ping was originally a manufacturing defect, it doesn't mean much to me. What I want to know is not how the knockoff compares to a ten-dollar Nibo, but how it compares to a genuine dupont. Have you used the real ones to compare? BTW, thanks for the input.


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## MrBill

SeanGAR said:


> Given that the ping was originally a manufacturing defect, it doesn't mean much to me. What I want to know is not how the knockoff compares to a ten-dollar Nibo, but how it compares to a genuine dupont. Have you used the real ones to compare? BTW, thanks for the input.


From what I'm told (by the guy who got me hooked) is that it is very difficult to tell them apart....supposedly a retailer was only able to tell, by removing the fuel fill plug and seeing the color paint used to denote which Dupongaz to use. The shade of paint was different...
My observation is, all the knock offs, even those WITH OUT the lacquer say "LAQUE DE CHINE" for Chinese Lacquer. So if it is a silver plated one, then this would be a dead give away!


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## MrBill

Was browsing eBay for more St Dupont's.... You've got to know that if someone is selling one for like $55.00 USD (about $29 GBP) its a fake! There is some guy selling the same fake lighter and is expecting $450!!!! I know its a fake because of the "Laque de Chine" on the bottom of a non-chinese lacquered lighter!!! Plus, the other lighters this guy is selling all have the some model number on the boxes!!! I really hope no one falls for this!!!


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